The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-09-22
The Post War Amendments.

note that the only part of the constitution
which has been framed by the generation
which is about to commemorate the sign
ing of the original document is the last
three amendments adopted since the war.
In fact these are the only changes made
in the constitution since 1904, when the
twelfth amendment was added.
Here are the three post war amend
ments:
ARTICLE Mi.
| Section Neither slavery nor involuntary servi
| tUde, except as a punishment for crime whereof
the party shall have been dull convicted, shah ex-
| their jurisdiction.
Section 2-Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislati IN.
ARTICLE XIV
! Section ALI pc sons norn or naturalized in the
United States, and subject To the iur dicnon there
Of are ctiz of the United States and of the state
wherein they reside. No state shall make or
enforce any law which shal abridge the privileges
or inmunities Of citizens of the United States
shall any g. ate deprive any person of life, liberty
or property without due process of law, nor deny
to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pro
| lection of the laws.
Section 5-The congress shall have power to en-
force, by appropriate Legislation, the provisions of
this article.
ARTICLE Nv
Section 1.-The right of citizens of the United
States TO vote shall not he denied or abridged
| by the United States, or by any state, on
account of race, color or previous condition of
| serVitude.
Section 2-The congress shall have power to en-.
force this article by appropriate Legislation.
We have omitted from the fourteenth
amendment three sections relating to spe
cial matters growing out of the war. The
thirteenth was adopted in 1865, the four
teenth in 1868 aud the fifteenth in 1870.
They all relate primarily to the negro.
Their first purpose was to elevate the
southern blacks to citizenship. The thir-
teenth rendered slavery forever impossible
in the United States; out the black though
a free man, was not yet a citizen. The
supreme court had declared in the bred
Scott case that negro was not and could
not become a citizen of the United States
under the constitC ton as it then stood.
The fourteenth amendment made every
Colored person citizen aud gave him
equal civil rights with white citizens.
Though clothed with citizenship and civil
rights, colored persons we're still without
the political right to vote. This was Sc
cured to them by the fifteenth amendment.
These amendments carved very large
slice out of state sovereignty. For they
stripped the states of all power to deny
any right guaranteed by the amendments.
While their primary purpose was to pre-
vent the re enslavement of the southern
blacks and to give them citizenship, they
have a far broader scope. They apply
equally to all the states, and to all citi-
Zsns, white as we'll as colored. The thir-
teenth says that slavery shall not exist in
the United States. That means that in
this country there shall be no form of
slavery and that no person sha be made
slave. The fourteenth declares that
no state shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizen. That protects
every citizen, white or black, native or for
eign born. The fifteenth says that the
right of citizen to vote shall not be de-
MED or abridged IN account of race or
color. That secures the franchise to
colored citizens, but it would also pre-
vent them from curtaiing the franchise
of white citizens if the form er should ever
be in the ascendancy in any state.
The most comprehensive of these
amendments is the fourteenth. It i'm
poses upon state sovereignty far more
extensive and radical limitations than
either or both of the other two, or, in
fact, all thu rest of the constitution to-
gether. 1t brings the states in their in
ternal affairs under federal control to an
extent unknown prior to its adoption.
Before the war and when the war ended
the sovereignty OF every state over the
civil and political rights of its own citizens
and residents was practically supreme. The
control was but slightly limited by the
| few special checks in the federal consti-
| tuition. Every state was left free to legis
late in favor of or discriminate against
any class of its inhabitants. 1t might
deny to any class, black or white, foreign
born or native, the right to vote or hold
office, the right to adopt any profession,
the right to engage in any occupation,
the right to enter any field of labor. 1t
might deny to any class, as some of the
southern states once denied to the negro,
the right to make contracts, the right to
testify in court, the right to sit on jury,
etc. 1t might punish one class of offend
ers more severely than another for the
same crime. This vast power to discrim-
mate against classes of citizens or per-
SONS in the matter of civil rights was
taken from the states by the fourteenth
amendment. 1t transferred control over
the civil rights of the people from the
SuaLe 10 Ine nhUlOn.
While it was framed primarily for the
benefit of colored persons, it is curious to
note that it makes no mention of color or
race. Its language is general. The rights
secured and the protection guaranteed are
secured to all alike. 1t first makes every
person born in this country citizen. A
child born here of Chinese parents is a
citizen, though one born in Chira cannot
become citizen by naturalization. The
amendment then prohibits state from
abridging the privileges or immunities of
citizen. But it does not stop with pro-
lection to citizens. 1t forbids a state to de-
prive "any person" of life, liberty or prop
erty without due process of law, or to deny
to 'any person" the equal protection of
the law. That protects every person,
citizen orsnot, man or woman, old or
young, native or alien. 1T has protected
the Chinese against the oppressive legis-
lature of the Pacific slope. 1t prohibits
discriminating state laws, civil or criminal,
against any class of persons. 1t guaran-
tees equal protection under the law to
every class.
Congress is empowered to enforce the
provisions OF the amt ndment, and, whether
it does or not, the judicial power of the
nation can be invoked by appeal to the